He left here on the eve of elections in 1957 with the goal of studying and becoming Prime Minister of this country to make a difference. However, upon his arrival England, he was confronted with the agony of blunt racism by the Britons and his publishing house became the centre of a movement for justice.

When he returned here on July 8, 1995, it was only his second trip since leaving. He came with a mission. He wanted to publish a book on Guyana. It would not be polished, as the tourism magazines and brochures are. It would not be negative, displaying stark images of the violence that confronts this land. It would be Guyana for what it is – a country with challenges, but vibrant and emerging.

“I look at this book, I see my country,” President Bharrat Jagdeo said at the launching of the publication recently. `I am aware that over the past 40 years, many Guyanese have left the country. But in spite of this exodus, Guyana has gradually moved forward as a result of hard work, dedication and determination…Guyana is ‘climbing the hill’ and all the signs are there that the country can reach the top.’ Arif Ali, Editor, 240-page book on Guyana

Ali selected a group of competent writers and photographers to produce the 240-page publication that presents Guyana in an unadulterated view. His book shows Guyana as it is, no images are hidden. From a young boy pushing his brother in a wheelbarrow in rural Guyana or a cricket match on a pitch road in the capital, the pictures tell the story of life in Guyana. There is the vibrancy of our cultures and the beauty of the land. There are the opportunities for investing.

I asked him about whether being commissioned by the government of Guyana to carry out the project meant that he fashioned his book with a particular vision in mind. His answer was “no”, but he did not answer the question in defensive arrogance. He simply directed my attention to the pictures.

He turned to page 38 and told me of the debate that took place in his editorial circle about putting the picture of opposition leader Robert Corbin in colour, while having past presidents like Janet Jagan, Samuel Hinds and the late Desmond Hoyte in black and white.

“The reality is he could possibly become president,” he said, staring me in the eyes.

Then he slipped back to page 20, where there is the picture of a back view of the stelling at Stabroek market. Produce is offloaded there for wholesale to hucksters. It’s not a pretty picture. It’s an eyesore. But it is Guyana.

The book’s idea was in the making for more than 10 years. The late President Dr. Cheddi Jagan invited him to produce a book to “show off” Guyana. But the time was not right.

“With Guyana on the move in recent years, President Bharrat Jagdeo gave the project his full support, confirming that now was the time to showcase Guyana,” Ali says in the books foreword.

An initial 10, 000 copies of the book were printed. Not even on bookshelves yet, 7, 000 have been sold out, even though it fetches the hefty price of US$45.

Ali is obviously happy. The response from the government and the private sector tells him that the book has been widely accepted. In fact, 43 local companies supported the production of the book.

“I am aware that over the past 40 years, many Guyanese have left the country. But in spite of this exodus, Guyana has gradually moved forward as a result of hard work, dedication and determination…Guyana is ‘climbing the hill’ and all the signs are there that the country can reach the top,” Ali noted.

He knows of the Guyana of the past and while he has not hidden the rigged elections of the then PNC government, he has also not hidden developments in the country during that era.

HANSIB Born at Danielstown on the Essequibo Coast, Ali soon found himself on the island of Leguan, where, as a teenager, he campaigned alongside Sirpaul Jagan for the constituents in the Essequibo islands.

“I was always interested in life, in things Guyana,” he reflected.

It was his primary school head teacher at Leguan, the American-educated Mr. Yaw (he is still trying to find out his first name), who first introduced him to the reality of racism. Ali was told of the struggles of the African-Americans for equality and the stories stayed with him.

He campaigned in the elections of 1957 and left the day before the polls to study economics and history in England.

However, he fell in love with a 17-year-old British girl, Pamela Mary, and got married, much to the chagrin of his family back home. His grandmother refused even to see her photograph. They did not approve of his marrying a “white” girl.

Ali gave up his thoughts of studying and took on menial jobs, including being a porter in a hospital.

He landed in England at the time of the race riots in Nottingham and Notting Hill and he experienced first hand the discrimination against “blacks” like himself.

His intrigue with politics led him to absorb almost everything from Russia to China to Cuba. He was an avid reader, beaming through prescriptions on tablet bottles and anything he could find.

Ali, however, gave up the thought of coming back home and influencing the lives of just about a million people. He decided on taking on far more.

He began writing. He did not use his name, but wrote under Hansib, extracted from his father’s name, Haniff, and his mother’s Sibil. His aim was to be radical. He wanted to tell the British government about the clear racism in the land, that blacks were not getting jobs, for example, simply because they were blacks. He attacked their regulations, their policies. Everything he could.

Even Guyana’s President, the late Forbes Burnham, went to him for advice, whenever he went to London to lobby for British assistance.

“The British could tell Burnham about human rights and rigged elections, but once he came to me, he could tell them about what is happening under their nose,” Ali said.

In 1971, his company launched its first title, West Indian Digest, for Britain’s minority communities. Following on, Hansib expanded its publications line and produced newspapers, magazines and periodicals for Britain’s Caribbean, Asian and African communities. These titles included Caribbean Times, Asian Times, Asian Digest, Root Magazine, and West Indian World.

Hansib closed doors on its newspaper business in 1997. In that year, Ali received one of the best accolades of his career when he was awarded the European Union’s `European Year Against Racism Champion (Individual) Gold Standard Award.’

Hansib was not just a publication. It became a movement for the Britain’s black community. They simply walked in and could get help.

In 1987, he was instrumental in the campaign that saw the first blacks enter the British parliament. Included among them was Guyanese Bernie Grant.

Ali’s efforts were of course met with opposition from the superior authorities. He was beaten and jailed.

In 1997, when the Labour party took the reigns of government, Ali was invited to be a member of the Caribbean Advisory Group to advise Her Majesty’s Government on affairs in the Caribbean.

When Ali came to Guyana last year, the second time in about fifty years, he knew the time was right for his publication on this country. He had already done about a dozen on other Caribbean territories.

Ali said he sees too much bad press. When islands like Trinidad and Jamaica’s crime far outweighs that of Guyana, he cannot see where the scepticism is in investors coming to Guyana or for Guyanese to come home for a visit or to invest.

“If Mick Jagger can come to Guyana, why can’t you,” he asks of Guyanese abroad.

He said his book is no rosy picture, but rather is a true reflection of what Guyana is. He said tourism publications are like a “pawn” and only present the good side of Guyana.

He hopes that his book will inspire investors to come to Guyana and he hopes those would include Guyanese.

In Guyana, Ali said he sees much apathy with life, and people only care about leaving for overseas.

“If someone knows they have the opportunity of going abroad, they forget about everything home and focus on that,” he said.